The much-awaited successor to the Xiaomi Redmi 1S (also tipped as the Redmi 2S) is expected to launch on January 4, with the firm uploading a poster for an event on that date ahead of CES 2015 event.

Reports speculate that the Xiaomi handset recently spotted on the Tenaa certification website and appeared to be the successor of the Redmi 1S with 4G LTE connectivity, might be the smartphone that will be launched on January 4 due to its resemblance.

Xiaomi, on its Weibo account uploaded a poster (via Gizmochina) that shows three women holding smartphones with a rear panel that matches the panel seen on the Redmi 2S' Tenna listing image.

As per the latest AnTuTu benchmarks and Tenaa listing, the anticipated Redmi 2S features a 4.7-inch HD display and runs on Android 4.4.4 KitKat. It is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 LTE-enabled 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor with Adreno 306 GPU, and features 1GB of RAM. Also, the rumoured Redmi 2S includes an 8-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front-facing camera. The device is also understood to measure 134x67.21x9.2mm and weigh 132 grams, which is 26 grams less than the existing Redmi 1S.

The Tenaa listing additionally showed the handset to feature 8GB of internal storage expandable via microSD card (up to 32GB) and a 2200mAh battery. The dual-SIM phone is also listed to feature 4G LTE support on both SIM cards.

Xiaomi's recently leaked Arch smartphone with dual-edge display might also show up at the January 4 event. While there is no confirmation from the Chinese manufacturer about the Xiaomi Arch, the other two Xiaomi devices that are expected to launch soon are the Mi 5 or Mi 4S smartphone and the MiPad 2 tablet, which were both recently spotted in purported specifications and images.

xiaomi%20_arch_poster_leaked_gizmochina.jpg

Xiaomi is reportedly preparing a Galaxy Note Edge-like smartphone with a dual-edge display, dubbed the Xiaomi Arch.

According to GizmoChina on Saturday, a purported poster of the as-yet-unannounced Xiaomi Arch was spotted that called it the world's first phone with dual-edge display or dual-curved screen. However, the report doesn't reveal the source of the poster.

The Xiaomi Arch appears like a concept smartphone from the purported poster image (see above), and features a dual-edge display instead of just the single-edge display seen on the recently launched Samsung Galaxy Note Edge.

While there is no confirmation from the Chinese manufacturer about the Xiaomi Arch,the two devices that are expected from the Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi at CES 2015 are the Mi 5 or Mi 4S smartphone and the MiPad 2 tablet, which were both recently spotted in purported specifications and images.

From the purported image for the alleged Mi 5 or Mi 4S, the smartphone appeared to be a large screen phablet and was said to come with a sapphire glass display. The sapphire glass rumour is in line with a previous report, where the company was said to have ordered 50,000 sapphire covers for the smartphone.

As far as the specifications are concerned, the anticipated Mi 5 or Mi 4S smartphone is rumoured to feature a 5.7-inch Quad-HD (1440x2560 pixels) display; a 64-bit Snapdragon 810 processor; 3GB of RAM, and a 20.7-megapixel rear camera.

On the other hand, the anticipated next generation Xiaomi MiPad tablet, expected to be called the MiPad 2, is said feature an Intel chipset (1.8GHz), instead of an Nvidia Tegra SoC as seen on the original MiPad. The other tipped specifications of the rumoured MiPad 2 included a similar 7.9-inch display with a 2048x1536 pixels resolution; 2GB of RAM; 16GB of built-in storage, and MIUI skinned on top of Android 4.4.4 KitKat

The BlackBerry's blinking red light used to haunt me.

Just when I thought I could relax, enjoy a nice dinner or go for a run, my BlackBerry would start blinking again, signalling a new message. I was an addict. Typing with one hand, hiding the BlackBerry under the dinner table? No problem. Walking down the street while composing messages? Easy.

That was four years ago.

Today, I'm a loyal iPhone user, having just bought my second phone from Apple. I get my personal and work email on it. I also use it to tweet - maybe too much - and share photos of my travels on Instagram. My airline boarding passes and hotel reservations live on my phone. As a travel reporter, it's an indispensable tool for my work - not so much for the email but for all the apps that help me manage my trips. It feels like a mobile office for me.

This past week, I went back to my BlackBerry ways to test the company's latest model, the Classic.

For BlackBerry, this device is a return to its roots: It's made for those heavy corporate users who love the physical keyboard and have resisted the touch screens adopted by millions of iPhone and Android users. The Classic has strong security features, restores the beloved navigation row and sports a battery that won't be drained by lunch.

I can see how the Classic is a great device for loyal BlackBerry fans.

My friend Heather Montminy practically jumped out of her chair to try the Classic when she saw me testing it during dinner last week with our respective spouses. Montminy is a lawyer who has been using a BlackBerry for 12 years and carries two phones: an iPhone for her personal use and a BlackBerry for work.

"I'm excited for any new BlackBerry. I was really concerned that they were going to phase out the keyboard," Montminy says. "I feel like I can get a business email done much faster and more efficiently."

She says she's not great at typing on a touch screen and often finds herself making mistakes and having to go back and fix them. That might be fine in a message to friends but not on an important work email.

But after four years on the iPhone, I don't think the Classic is for me. I also don't believe it's going to sway back anybody who has abandoned the BlackBerry.

To be honest, I've become very good at typing emails on my touch screen. And I'm no casual user.

I send and receive a whopping 500 emails a day. Many are public relations pitches that only require a word or two in reply. But for many others, I will easily respond with a few paragraphs on my iPhone. In fact, I will often write large sections of my stories on my iPhone while riding the subway or sitting on planes prior to takeoff. The only big downside for me is copying and pasting.

Going back to a physical keyboard this past week turned out to be cumbersome. Yes, I liked that while in another program, the BlackBerry gave me a little banner up top announcing the sender of a new email. And, to be honest, that blinking red light was, in a strange way, comforting. But I wasn't typing any faster with the physical keyboard.

Beyond that, photos aren't as good as what I can take with the iPhone. Both phones produce 8 megapixel pictures, but images taken with the Classic weren't as sharp.

More importantly, BlackBerry lacks several apps I've come to depend on. The Classic will run some Android apps through Amazon's app store, but it's a subset of what's available for Android. It doesn't even run everything that would run on Amazon's Fire phone. Apps need to be tweaked for the phone's 3.5-inch screen (The display is smaller than most phones because the physical keyboard takes up much of the bottom).

There's no Instagram, no Uber car service and no ability to easily pull up my airline boarding pass. With my iPhone, I can get my boarding pass and add it to Passbook. It's there as I get to the security checkpoint - no fumbling around email folders or hoping there is a strong enough cell signal to download the image fresh.

Maybe if I never got a taste of the iPhones and all the apps available for it, I'd be first in line for a Classic. But BlackBerry took too long to modernize its system, and in that time, I've gotten used to the touchscreen.

Just like the Moto G and its LTE variant, the 4G model of the Moto G (Gen 2) has beenlisted ahead of an official announcement by the company. This time however, the Moto G (Gen 2) LTE has been listed on Motorola's site in Brazil.

The LTE (Band 7) variant of the Motorola Moto G (Gen 2) is listed on the firm's site to weigh slightly more than the 3G version at 155 grams, feature a bigger 2390mAh battery, and come only in a 16GB model (though with expandability via microSD card).

The Motorola Moto G (Gen 2) LTE is listed in a dual-SIM variant, with slots for Micro-SIM cards. The rest of the specifications of the smartphone are the same - a 5-inch HD (720x1280 pixel) IPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 (MSM8226) processor, 1GB of RAM, Adreno 305 GPU. It runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box.

The Moto G (Gen 2) LTE features an 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera, and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. It also sports dual-front speakers, above and below the display, apart from 2 mics. 4G LTE aside, the smartphone also features 3G, Wi-Fi 80211.ac, Bluetooth 4.0LE, Micro-USB, 3.5mm audio jack connectivity options. It measures 141.5x70.7x10.99mm.

The 3G variant of the Moto G (Gen 2) had its global launch in India back in September, and it was priced at Rs. 12,999. Notably, the Moto G (Gen 2) has not yet been listed for purchase by the company on the Brazil site, with the DTV (Digital TV) variant listed at BRL 799 (roughly Rs. 18,900), and the regular 3G variant listed at BRL 729 (roughly Rs. 17,200). It is not yet known if an LTE model will arrive in a similar configuration for global markets

As more and more Indians go online, our government services are following suit. A lot of things that used to be extremely difficult and inconvenient are now just a matter of a few clicks. To help our readers make the most of the new services that are now available, we will regularly update guides for using different government websites. The new sites make it easy for anyone to file an RTI, apply for a PAN card or download a copy of their Aadhaar card. Digital governance has made applying for things easier than ever, and nowhere is this more true than in applying for a passport.

Just the thought of applying for a passport in India is enough to induce a headache. Many people still sweat over minor details such as how to fill the form and which documents are needed. Many people still hire agents and getting the process completed for a fee because no one wants to waste hours at government offices, running from one department to another in order to get basic things done. If you are one of these people, stop furrowing your brows and relax. It's easy to apply for a passport online. The process is long and you'll still have to go to the passport office, but you definitely won't need an agent to get the job done as long as you follow these steps.

Go to the Passport Seva website.
Click Register Now in the box titled Apply.
Now fill the form to create an account on the Passport Seva website. You need to select the passport office of the city you're living in now, not your native place. Also make sure that you enter the name exactly as it appears in your other documents to avoid any problems with your application. The rest of the form is pretty straightforward - it's just like signing up for any other website..
Click Register when done.
Now that you've created your account, return to the Passport Seva website.
Click the green Login button.
Enter your email address and click Continue.
Key in your email, password and the characters in the image. Click Login.
Click Apply for Fresh Passport/Reissue of Passport.
You can either download the form, fill it and upload it back to the website, or just fill the details online. We recommend that you fill the details online to save time.

In case you want to download the form anyway, click Click here to download the soft copy of the form, in the first subheading on the page titled Alternative 1.
If you want to fill the form online, click on Click here to fill the application form online under Alternative 2. We suggest you choose this option as it is the easiest way to apply for your passport.
On the next page, you'll have to choose between a Fresh passport or Re-issue, aNormal or Tatkal passport, 38 pages or 60 pages. Make the selections as per your requirements, and click Next page.
You have to enter your personal information on the next page, and once again, the information you fill should match your other documents. If you have any doubts, you can refer to this official instruction booklet. Once you're done, clickSubmit Application at the bottom right.
After you've filled the form, return to the webpage mentioned in step 9.
Click View Saved/Submitted Applications.
You'll see the application you just submitted. Click the radio button next to it and click Pay and Schedule Appointment.
Select Online Payment and click Next.

A list of Passport Seva Kendras from your city will appear on screen along with the date and time of the earliest available appointment.
Select one of these from the drop-down menu next to PSK Location.
Enter the characters in the image next to and click Next.
Click Pay and Book Appointment.
This will now take you to the payment gateway. Complete your payment and you'll be redirected to the Passport Seva website.
Now you'll see a page titled Appointment Confirmation with all the details of your appointment at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK).
Click Print Application Receipt. The next page will show a detailed view of the application - again, click on Print Application Receipt.
On the next page you'll see a preview of the receipt. Once again, click Print Application Receipt to finally take a printout of the appointment confirmation.
You will need a print of this receipt to enter the PSK.

Now all you need to do is go to the PSK at the time mentioned in the receipt. Based on our experience, if you have all the required documents, your PSK visit shouldn't take more than two hours. You'll get your passport after police verification is complete. In the meantime, you can check the status of your application here. To track your application status:

Go to the website here.
Choose Passport from the drop down menu, and type in your case number (which the PSK gives you) and your date of birth, and click on Track Status to see the status of your application.

Have you applied for a passport online? If yes, how was your experience? Let us know via the comments. For more tutorials, visit our How To section.

Microsoft's rumoured Lumia 1330 mid-range handset, which was spotted last month in an image, has been purportedly listed in a GFXBench benchmark along with its specification details.

The Lumia 1330 is being tipped as the successor to the Lumia 1320. Until now, theblue-coloured rear panel of the rumoured device was the only clue that indicated the handset's existence.

According to the GFXBench listing (via Nokiapoweruser), the rumoured Lumia 1330, codenamed RM-1062, features a 5.7-inch display with an HD (1280x719 pixels) resolution. A quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 ARMv7 processor is listed, along with Adreno 305 for handling the graphics. Besides DirectX 11 integration, the rumoured Lumia 1330 is also seen to include 1GB of RAM (shown as 0.38GB in the benchmark screenshot below).

While the Windows Phone handset in the GFXBench test shows a 12-megapixel rear camera, it is actually said to feature a maximum image resolution of 13-megapixel and pack at least a 14-megapixel rear camera sensor as per another source via the website. A 5-megapixel (shown as 4.8-megapixel) front-facing camera is also suggested in the test results.

In addition, 27GB of inbuilt storage is listed for the Lumia 1330, which points to 32GB of overall storage.

While the launch date, availability or the price details of the handset in question are not yet known, Microsoft may introduce at the upcoming CES 2015 event in January in Las Vegas or during the MWC 2015 in February. Microsoft has until now launched only one Lumia handset without Nokia-branding, the Lumia 535

Apple fans who were disappointed with the launch of the large screen iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in September this year, might soon see a 4-inch iPhone with an iPhone 6-like design arrive in 2015.

Timothy Arcuri, an analyst from Cowen and Company, is reported to have issued a note to Apple investors stating that the Cupertino-based tech firm might be working on a 4-inch handset, which might be called as iPhone 6s mini.

Apple Insider, which claims to have procured a copy of the issued note, also adds that the specifications of the rumoured mini smartphone will match with that of iPhone 5s' and the design with iPhone 6. This piece of information however should be taken with a pinch of salt as Arcuri's predictions is said to be mixed.

If Arcuri's prediction proves to be correct, the iPhone 6s mini could replace the iPhone 5c - the company's current budget smartphone - in the market. The analyst has also added that Apple might rely on Qualcomm for the iPhone 6s mini's components in order to keep the pricing down.

Apple in September this year launched the large screen iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets showing that it is willing to change its beliefs to cater to the moving market landscape. However, some observers also saw this surprise move by the firm as a bit of a U-turn, based on public comments made by the company earlier.

Arcuri not only sparked rumours for the iPhone 6s mini but also said that Apple's long rumoured 12.9-inch tablet is well under works and might be launched in Spring next year. The tablet is said to 'reinvigorate' the product category. Apple plans to ship 15 million to 20 million units of the rumoured tablet initially

Reliance Communications' zero downpayment plans for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were first reported back in October. However, there has been no announcement regarding the Zero Plan offer from either company.

Now, further cementing the fact that the Reliance Zero Plan for new iPhones might be around the corner, the Apple India website is seen to include a link to Reliance's official eShop. Notably, the link on the Apple site only leads to Reliance's official online eShop home page.

Unfortunately, the Reliance eShop site does not list the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus (or any iPhone) under its Zero Plan offers hinting that the offer is in final stages and we have to still wait for the official announcement. One of our readers spotted the new button available on the Apple India site.

As seen with the previous leaked zero downpayment plans for the new iPhones, Reliance could offer the iPhone 6 at Rs. 3,099 per month for 24 months, while the iPhone 6 Plus at Rs. 3,599 per month for 24 months. There were no details about which storage variant available under Rcom's Zero Plan, but the per month pricing translated to a total of Rs. 74,376 over two years for the iPhone 6, and Rs. 86,376 over two years for the iPhone 6 Plus.

Apple back in October had launched the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones in India - pricing the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 at Rs. 53,500 for the 16GB variant, Rs. 62,500 for the 64GB variant, and Rs. 71,500 for the 128GB variant; and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus at Rs. 62,500 for the 16GB variant, Rs. 71,500 for the 64GB variant, and Rs. 80,500 for the 128GB variant.

For those unaware, under Reliance's Zero Plan, consumers can buy mobile devices under 6-month, 12-month, or 24-month contracts (depending on the price of the smartphone), and won't be required to make any downpayment.

It's worth noting that Reliance Communications had last year as well introduced a similar offer where consumers could buy the 16GB iPhone 5s at a monthly fee of Rs. 2,999 and 16GB iPhone 5c at a fee of Rs. 2,599 at zero upfront cost.

Two devices from Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi expected at CES 2015 are the Mi 5 or Mi 4S smartphone and the MiPad 2 tablet.

The anticipated flagship smartphone from Xiaomi has been leaked in purported specifications and an image. The alleged Mi 5 or Mi 4S from the purported image appears to be a large screen smartphone or phablet, and likely uses a sapphire glass display, reports DigiTimes (via PhoneArena).

The sapphire glass rumour is in-line with a previous report, where the company was said to have ordered 50,000 sapphire covers for the smartphone.

On the other hand, the anticipated next generation Xiaomi MiPad tablet, expected to be called the MiPad 2, has also been leaked in pictures and specifications on Weibo (via GizmoChina). The report speculates that these pictures could be fake however, as there is no Mi branding on top of the pictured tablet and its overall design is very different from the current MiPad.

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One big change that Xiaomi is said to be making for the next generation MiPad tablet is the inclusion of an Intel chipset (1.8GHz), instead of using an Nvidia Tegra SoC as used in the original MiPad.

The other tipped specifications of the rumoured MiPad 2 include a similar 7.9-inch display with a 2048x1536 pixels resolution; 2GB of RAM; 16GB of built-in storage, and MIUI skinned on top of Android 4.4.4 KitKat.

HTC will expand its entry-level 4G smartphone portfolio in the first quarter of next year, hints President of HTC North Asia, Jack Tong, in a media report.

Tong is also reported to have to revealed some statistics, such as HTC handsets sold online currently account for a 'double-digit ratio to its total sales'.

The DigiTimes report further cites Tong to say HTC will stress on promotion of affordable HTC handsets over the Internet. Tong also expects that HTC handset shipment will grow by a double-digit rate next year. He also revealed that the single-SIM Desire 820 will be available in markets starting January 2015.

The HTC North Asia President added that the company's RE camera has seen impressive response since its availability in early December. Tong expects that the RE camera will exceed 20,000 units by end of this year.

HTC's RE action camera earlier this month was made officially available in India via exclusive online partner, Snapdeal, priced at Rs. 9,990.

The Taiwanese handset brand has launched a number of budget and mid-range smartphones in India this year. Some of the popular handsets that created a buzz in the Indian market were the HTC Desire 816 launched at Rs. 23,990, and which was soon followed by a cheaper version called the Desire 816G. Other handsets include the HTC Desire 210 Dual SIM priced at Rs. 8,700; HTC Desire 310 at Rs. 11,700; HTC Desire 516 Dual SIM priced at Rs. 14,200; HTC Desire 516C at Rs. 12,990, and HTC Desire 616 Dual SIM at Rs. 16,900.

The company also launched its "most affordable 4G LTE handset," the Desire 510, which is currently available in select markets in Europe and Asia.

While earlier this month Samsung Galaxy S5 started receiving the Android 5.0 Lollipop update in some regions, a new page on the Samsung Finland website has revealed a few more devices that are in line. The Android 5.0 Lollipop update list also includes couple of devices that were launched back in 2012.

First in line for the Android 5.0 Lollipop update is the Galaxy Note 4, which Samsung already teased in October. The flagship phablet's predecessor, Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is also scheduled for the update.

Interestingly, while the page (via GSMArena) shows the Galaxy S5 Mini to be in line for the Android 5.0 Lollipop update, it shows "no information" for its bigger version, the Samsung Galaxy S5. However, the update for the Galaxy S5 has reportedly already rolling out in some regions, and the device also falls under the South Korean smartphone maker's two years or two major updates (whichever comes first) criteria for eligibility.

Talking about Samsung's update eligibility criteria, the page also surprisingly shows Galaxy Note II also scheduled for the Android 5.0 Lollipop update. It is worth mentioning that the device was launched in September 2012 and has crossed its two years. The metal-clad Galaxy Alpha and the last year's flagship Galaxy S4 are also in the list of devices due for updates on the Samsung Finland site.

Last month, sources close to Samsung also confirmed the Galaxy S4 would be receiving the update early next year, though the timeline may change. Android 5.0 Lollipop will notably be the third major update for the handset, after Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and Android 4.4 KitKat, which puts it outside of the firm's update criteria.

The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge has been launched in India, three months after its global introduction. The handset will be available in the first week of January next year with select retailers at a recommended price tag of Rs. 64,900, and come in Charcoal Black and Frost White colours in India.

The announcement by Samsung comes almost a month after the firm said it will release the limited edition Galaxy Note Edge to 22 countries - Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Nepal, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the UK.

Samsung had launched the Galaxy Note Edge during IFA in September and had announced that it will sell the device in select markets only. Later in the month, the South Korean consumer electronics giant had confirmed the smartphone was a'limited edition concept', and that it would be selling 1 million units of the Galaxy Note Edge across the globe in 2014.

The Galaxy Note Edge uses Samsung's flexible-display technology. While the main screen remains flat like previous phones, the right edge extends and curves until it reaches the back. That creates a side display so information such as weather and time can be seen from the side when the phone is laid on a table - such as a nightstand next to the bed.

With the side display, the Galaxy Note Edge's camera functions more like a stand-alone, point-and-shoot camera, as the shutter button and other functions appear on top when the phone is held horizontally.

As far as specifications are concerned, the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge features a 5.6-inch Quad-HD+ (1440+160x2560 pixel) Super AMOLED display, and is powered by a quad-core 2.7GHz Snapdragon 805 processor coupled with Adreno 420 GPU and 3GB of RAM.

The rest of the specifications of the Galaxy Note 4 and Note Edge are identical, except that the latter will also come in a 64GB built-in storage variant, and has a slightly smaller 3000mAh battery.

It ships with Android 4.4 KitKat onboard, and has dimensions 151.3x82.4x8.3mm, weighing in at 174 grams. It features a 16-megapixel autofocus rear camera with Smart OIS, and a 3.7-megapixel front-facing camera with an f/1.9 lens. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, GPS/ Glonass, NFC, Bluetooth v4.0, IR LED, USB 2.0, and MHL 3.0.

The Galaxy Note Edge features an accelerometer, geo-magnetic sensor, gyroscope, RGB, IR-LED, proximity, barometer, hall sensor, finger scanner, UV, heart rate monitor.

"Samsung continues with its legacy of pioneering extraordinary innovations and setting new benchmarks in the mobile industry. The Galaxy Note Edge is a stunningly beautiful device equipped with a unique curved screen which not only makes the smartphone distinctive but also delivers a unique way to access information and optimizes functionality," stated Asim Warsi, VP, Mobile & IT, Samsung India of the launch.

"At Samsung, we relentlessly pursue customer-centric innovation and develop devices that enable consumers to express their unique style. The Galaxy Note Edge's curved design will make the screen more meaningful to users in their everyday lives," he added.

The HTC Desire Eye pricing for India has been tipped at Rs. 35,990 on Wednesday by a Mumbai-based retailer, who also claimed the smartphone is now available, ahead of an official announcement by the company.

In October, during the unveiling of the HTC Desire Eye in India, the company had not announced the price and said that the device will release in late November exclusively on Amazon India. This has not happened as yet, and the HTC India website still lists it as 'Coming soon'.

NDTV Gadgets was also told of the availability of the Desire Eye at a similar price in New Delhi by another established retailer.

The HTC Desire Eye is a selfie-focused smartphone that boasts of a front-facing camera with the same treatment as the rear camera. Both feature 13-megapixel sensors, and are both accompanied by dual-LED flash. To put the Desire Eye's purported price in perspective, the HTC One (M8 Eye) was launched in October at Rs. 38,990.

Both the front-facing and rear cameras can shoot 1080p@30fps videos. While the rear camera features an f/2.0 aperture and a 28mm lens, the front-facing camera features an f/2.2 aperture with a 20mm lens.

Certain camera features like Split Capture, Crop-Me-In and others are also available on the HTC Desire Eye. While the Split Capture divides the image 50/50 between front and rear cameras, the Crop-Me-In feature crops the user's image and superimposes it on the image shot by the rear camera.

HTC Desire Eye also features an IPX7 rating, designed to resist immersion in water up to 1 metre for 30 minutes. As for other specifications, the HTC Desire Eye boasts of a 5.2-inch full-HD LCD display; Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor; 2GB of RAM; 16GB of inbuilt storage expandable via microSD card (up to 128GB), and a 2400mAh Li-Po battery. Front-facing stereo speakers powered by HTC BoomSound technology are also onboard the handset. It measures in at 151.7x73.8x8.5mm

The much-awaited WhatsApp free voice calling feature seems closer to launch, with new reports citing evidence in the latest builds of the app for Android, complete with screenshots of the various parts of the voice-calling interface.

WhatsApp distributes to main builds for Android, with the one on Google Play less up-to-date than the one found on the company's own website. It's this latter build that supposedly features hidden material for the voice calling feature, probably being used for testing purposes.

As per a report by AndroidWorld.nl (via GSMArena), the screens seen in the latest WhatsApp build for Android from the company's site indicate the voice calling function is quite separate from the chatting function, with different screens meant for dialing, call logs, and contacts.

The report also points to an ability in the app to listen to conversations again, though this functionality is not immediately apparent from the leaked images, and the site may be referring to another screen.

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CEO of the Facebook-owned WhatsApp, Jan Koum, in October confirmed that the voice calling feature was in the works, but had revealed the release would be delayed till Q1 2015. Koum said the firm still has several technical issues to overcome before it can successfully launch seamless voice calling. Koum noted issues like how the app doesn't have access to certain microphones on the smartphone to properly enable noise cancellation.

Koum also added that the WhatsApp development team is looking for ways to implement the voice calling service in poor data coverage areas, considering that many WhatsApp users in emerging markets are still on 2G networks.

Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone maker that has been under the spotlight for its handset sales issues in India, appears to have allowed the much-anticipated successor to the Redmi 1S to pass through the closely-watched AnTuTu benchmarks.

The smartphone, codenamed Xiaomi HM2014811 and anticipated to be called the Redmi 2S, is seen to sport a 4.7-inch HD display and run on Android 4.4.4 KitKat. It is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 LTE-enabled 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor with Adreno 306 GPU, and features 1GB of RAM. Also, the rumoured Redmi 2S includes an 8-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front-facing camera.

Notably, a Xiaomi device named 'Millet 2014811' was spotted last week on the Tenaa certification website. The smartphone listing also detailed similar specifications, such as the 4.7-inch display, and added that the device measures 134x67.21x9.2mm and weighs 132 grams, which is 26 grams less than the existing Redmi 1S. The Tenaa listing also showed the handset to house 8GB of internal storage expandable via microSD card (up to 32GB), 4G LTE connectivity, and a 2200mAh battery besides the aforementioned specifications from the AnTuTu benchmarks.

Most of the specifications of the listed Xiaomi smartphone match the Redmi 1S specifications, except that the smartphone appears to have a better processor, a better front camera from 1.6-megapixel, latest Android OS, and 4G LTE connectivity - indicating that the smartphone is indeed the successor to the popular budget smartphone.

Xiaomi, soon after being permitted to import and sell Qualcomm chipset-based handsets in India, announced earlier this week that it will hold a flash sale on December 23 (Tuesday) for the budget Redmi 1S. The announcement came via Hugo Barra's post on Facebook

Many smartphone users download far too many apps for them to keep updating each one manually. Luckily, the major app platforms all have automatic app updates now, and the default setting for this is 'On'. This means that your apps will remain up to date with all the latest features and bug-fixes that the developers come up with, without you having to do a single thing.

And these days apps roll out bug fixes faster than you can say, "update", so keeping the app updates on automatic makes a lot of sense. But there are some major drawbacks involved as well, and these might cause you to rethink your automatic update policy.

For one thing, if automatic updates are enabled and not just limited to Wi-Fi, then you could end up inadvertently spending huge amounts of money as every small update is downloaded over your 3G connection.

Aside from that, constantly transferring data and updating the software also keeps the phone running, and keeps your battery running down a lot faster than you were expecting - turning automatic updates off could give you that little extra time you always find yourself needing.

And then, of course, there are the changes to software that you didn't want in the first place. Sometimes bugfixes add more bugs, and sometimes new features aren't improvements at all. There are times when you will discover that an app has updated and then find yourself wishing that the old version were still around.

For example, we're big fans of the iOS game Crossy Road - or were, until the latest update. We were playing it happily on an iPad 3 until it auto-updated. Since the update, the game started lagging on the iPad and became frustrating. Monetisation features in the game have also become more aggressive and get in the way of an otherwise great experience.

Such a thing can happen to any app and does give you a good reason not to update automatically. The adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" holds true. If you've faced any such situation and want to stop updating apps automatically, follow the steps in this guide.

Android

Android gives you a fair amount of freedom about updates. You can turn off all updates, or limit updates to Wi-Fi downloads only. You can also enable updates for only specific apps - so for example, you might want the latest versions of apps you use very frequently, but you don't want to waste bandwidth downloading updates for other apps that will be launched only once every three months.

To turn updates on or off, follow these steps:

Open Google Play.
Tap the hamburger icon (three horizontal lines) on the top-left.
Tap Settings.
Tap Auto-update apps.
To disable automatic app updates, select Do not auto-update apps.
If you want to instead auto-update apps only when you're connected to a WiFi network, tap Auto-update apps over Wi-Fi only in the same pop-up.

Android also lets you choose which apps you want to update automatically.

To turn on auto-update for any app, go to the app page in the Google Play app.
Tap the three vertical dots in the top right.
Check Auto-update.

This way, you can disable automatic updates and still keep chosen apps ready with the latest versions.

iOS

On iOS, you can choose to either have automatic updates on or off, and if on, you can choose whether or not to use your mobile connection to download apps. There's no way to disable automatic app updates for individual apps on iOS - this means that either all apps will update, or none. If you want to stop all automatic updates, the steps are simple:

Go to Settings > iTunes & App Store.
To disable all automatic app updates, turn off the green switch next to Updates.
If you want to automatically update apps, but only when you are connected to a Wi-Fi network, leave updates on and turn off Use Mobile Data instead.

Windows Phone 8.1

Like iOS, Windows Phone 8.1 also lets you choose whether or not to update all apps, or to update them only on Wi-Fi, and not on cellular data.

Open Store.
Tap the three horizontal dots icon on the bottom-right.
Tap Settings.
Tap the switch next to Update apps automatically to turn it off.
You can instead turn on Only get updates over Wi-Fi to avoid unnecessary cellular data charges.

Windows 8.1

The settings for the Windows 8.1 app updates are very similar to Windows Phone 8.1. If you have a Windows 8.1 machine, you can follow these steps to disable automatic app updates.

Open Store.
Swipe from the right edge of the screen (or press the Windows Key + C) to reveal the Charms Bar.
Tap Settings.
Tap App Updates.
Tap the button below Automatically update my apps to change it from Yes toNo.

Have you disabled automatic updates on your smartphone or tablet? Why did you do so? Let us know via the comments. For more tutorials, visit our How To section.

Following the previous rumour of the yet-to-be-announced Samsung Galaxy S6 sporting a half-metal body, the anticipated Samsung flagship is now being tipped by an Italian blog to sport a complete aluminium build. Notably, Samsung has already launched its full-metal handset range, the Galaxy A series.

The Samsung Galaxy S6, in-line with an earlier report, is also being tipped by the blog to sport a 'dual-edge' display that will be curved on the both (right and left) sides. Notably, Samsung's first smartphone to feature an 'edge display' is the Galaxy Note Edge.

Notably, the purported Galaxy S6 with a curved display may be the rumoured Galaxy S6 Edge instead, which an earlier report claimed would launch alongside the Galaxy S6. Sammobile had claimed that like the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and the limited edition Galaxy Note Edge variant, Samsung will launch a Galaxy S6 Edge variant alongside the Galaxy S6.

Earlier this month a purported variant of the Samsung Galaxy S6 was spotted on the AnTuTu benchmark site along with some detailed specifications. The benchmark listing of the alleged Samsung Galaxy S6 (SM-G925F) shows the device running Android 5.0 Lollipop out-of-the-box on a 64-bit octa-core Exynos 7420 processor alongside Mali-T760 GPU and 3GB of RAM, in-line with earlier reports.

Notably, the SM-G925F model number of the Samsung Galaxy S5 successor is one of the several expected region-based model numbers of the Galaxy S6 that was reported earlier. According to the leaked model numbers of the Galaxy S6, the SM-G925F is a European variant of the flagship.

Micromax - in a move straight out of its rival Lava's playbook - recently announced its plans to launch a new brand called Yu. Lava has had great success with the Xolo brand it launched in 2012, with the latter carving out an identity of its own. You'll find no mention of Lava in Xolo's marketing material, and Micromax is going down the same route with Yu.

Micromax made the announcement last month when it said the Yu brand of smartphones will run Cyanogen OS, the commercial variant of the Android-based operating system popular with the 'hacker' community that loves being in control of their devices. No other details were shared at that point.

Things became more confusing with a legal tussle over Cyanogen rights in India between Micromax and OnePlus. Micromax has an exclusive agreement with Cyanogen for distribution of Cyanogen OS-powered phones in India and other South Asian countries. This meant that OnePlus, which recently announced in entry in India with the launch of OnePlus One (another Cyanogen OS powered smartphone) had to halt sales.

The details about the new phone became clear on Thursday, when Micromax unveiled the first Yu smartphone, called the Yu Yureka. As you would expect, the company spent a lot of time talking about the software features of the smartphone. With a slogan that goes "Yu Play God", Micromax aims to put you in control of almost every aspect of the smartphone. Users can change the look of the Yu Yureka by installing one of the themes available in the store, or create their own by changing elements like icons, fonts, and even boot screen animations to suit their moods. This, again, is similar to what Xolo has done with its recently unveiled Hive UI but Micromax goes a step further.

One of the standout features of the Cyanogen OS that'll come installed on Yu Yureka is something we've been wishing for years Google would add to stock Android - privacy controls on the Cyanogen OS let you edit permissions of every app. While Android does a good job of highlighting what permissions (e.g. SD card, Contacts, Your photos etc.) an app will need when you are installing or updating it, what you can do with that information is pretty limited. You know there's no reason for a photo editing app to have access to your call logs, but you can either agree to install the app or reject it but there's no way to install the app and restrict its permissions to a legitimate set without rooting your phone and/ or using third-party apps. That's not the case with Cyanogen OS.

There are other good software features like support for 24-bit high-resolution lossless audio, support for slow-motion video @ 60fps (with promise of 120fps video via a software update) and built-in support for Baton by Nextbit, which adds Apple Continuity like features to the OS. Micromax is wooing the developer/ hacker community with the Yu Yureka by offering features like unlockable bootloader, availability of kernel source and full Android build tree. In addition, Micromax says it will not void the warranty, in case anyone roots the Yu Yureka. All this will surely be music to the ears of those who love being in control of their smartphone experience.

While the software features are cool, the Yu Yureka is no slouch under the hood. It is powered by a 1.5GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 MSM8939 64-bit processor alongside Adreno 405 GPU as well as 2GB RAM. Micromax's Yu Yureka comes with 16GB internal storage, which is expandable by another 32GB via a microSD card. The only downside is the display that's low resolution for its size. The smartphone comes with 13-megapixel rear and 5-megapixel front shooters. All this at an unbelievable price tag of Rs. 8,999 and backed by an onsite warranty, something unheard of in the smartphone space.

While most can't hide their excitement looking at the price tag, we are firmly in the "if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is" camp. The HTC Desire 820, which has nearly identical specifications as the Yu Yureka, is being sold at a price tag that's nearly 2.5 times that of the Yureka. While HTC usually sells its devices at a bit of a premium, the Desire 820 is pretty decently priced for the hardware, so you have to wonder how Micromax is planning to sell a similar device at the fraction of the cost.

It's no surprise then Micromax is inspired by another company that's been selling devices at a discount compared to ones with similar specifications - Xiaomi. The Yu Yureka will be sold via the flash sale model made infamous by Xiaomi, wherein customers will need to pre-register at Amazon India and then compete with each other to complete the purchase.

Micromax did not answer queries on how many units will be made available for the first and subsequent sales, but everything points to the fact that the Yu Yureka might be harder to get than any of Xiaomi smartphones. We hope Micromax is more open about how many Yureka smartphones will be up for grabs in each flash sale closer to the date, so customers know exactly what they are getting into, and it's not a case of lakhs of people competing to buy a handful of units.

While that may sound like music to the ears of those associated with Micromax's Yu Yureka smartphone, recent history has shown it doesn't take long for what sounds like great, free publicity to turn into a potentially damaging backlash.

The Sony Pictures cyber-attack has seen several juicy nuggets leaked to the Web, with the publishing of a number of the company's emails causing much furore across industries, apart from the leak of several movies ahead of release. The most recent of these leaks revolves around Sony's next flagship smartphone, the device expected to be called the Xperia Z4.

Earlier this week, a draft script of the latest James Bond movie, Spectre, was leaked to the Web, and film producers Eon Productions confirmed it was an early version of the official script. The movie is set to launch in November.

More than just the script appears to have been leaked however, with purported company correspondence (via Gizmodo) between Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton and Executive Vice President of Consumer Marketing George Leon for the produce placement of the Xperia Z4 in the movie showcasing early designs of the phone.

Several images were leaked alongside the email, which stated Sony Mobile has provided the "much-needed visuals of the new Z4 Phones". Apart from discussing various product placement fees and production budgets for advertising, Leon's email to Lynton also noted that these are the "planned phones for May/ November of 2015".

sony_xperia_z4_back_sony_pictures_email_leak_gizmodo.jpg

While the tentative release date outlined in email does fall in-line with the announced release of the Spectre film, it does not match Sony's bi-annual flagship release cycle, which should see a release of the successor to the IFA-launched Xperia Z3, the Xperia Z4, by MWC 2014 latest.

The purported Xperia Z4 images leaked in the email show smartphones that have similar design aesthetics to the current Xperia range of handsets, however are slightly different from each other - further cementing the speculation that these are early design documents of the smartphone, and that the Xperia Z4 may just end up looking dramatically different from what is seen here.

sony_xperia_z4_side_sony_pictures_email_leak_gizmodo.jpg

The images show bevelled edges, glass sides, mirror finishes to the front and back, resin bezels. The lock screen design also appears to match the colour of the phone, while a rear cushion is featured in another image. A separate leaked image is of a smartwatch, described as a 'tapered loop', and sporting some funky designs.

ZTE on Thursday launched the successor of its Star 1 smartphone, ZTE Star 2 (DB LINK), in China at CNY 2,499 (roughly Rs. abc). There is no information on the global availability of the smartphone. The firm added that it will be showcasing a number of flagship devices at the upcoming CES 2015 event in January.

The Chinese smartphone maker is touting its Star 2 to sport a system-wide voice control feature that is functional even when the device is offline and without any network connection. ZTE claims the average response time of the improved voice recognition technology in the Star 2 is 1.2 seconds with 90 percent success rate.

Users can give voice commands in ZTE Star 2 to make phone calls, open third-party apps, play music, take photos and more. The handset also sports smart voice function that lets users make real-time voice-to-text input and play music. Improved driving mode with bunch of new features and a better motion sensing integration come added in the handset.

The ZTE Star 2 smartphone runs Android 4.4 KitKat (via GSM Arena) along with its own MiFavour 3.0 UI. Featuring a 5-inch full-HD display, the device is powered by a quad-core 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and 2GB of RAM.

A 13-megapixel rear camera with dual-LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with 88 degree wide lens and f/2.2 aperture is also housed in the Star 2. Users can launch the smartphone's camera app by simple drawing 'C' on the screen.

Also, the ZTE Star 2's inbuilt 16GB storage is expandable via microSD card. A 2300mAh battery backs the 4G LTE-supporting handset.

While all the dimensions of the ZTE Star 2 are not yet known, the company however adds that the device is 6.9mm thin and flaunts 1.18mm-thin bezels. The overall design of the handset is similar to the Star 1, which was launched in April this year.

It is worth noting that ZTE earlier this month launched its Grand S II smartphone in India at Rs. 13,999. The smartphone was initially announced at CES 2014, and went on sale in China in April priced at CNY 1699 (Rs. 16,375 approximately)

Last week, reports came out suggesting that Samsung is planning a Snapdragon 810-based variant of the Galaxy Note 4, and that the company has already started testing the device on some major carriers in South Korea. While the report couldn't confirm the testing carrier list, it had speculated that LG+, SKT, and Olleh, might be the ones testing the smartphone.

Now a leaked set of benchmarks by Geekbench (via Slashgear) on Friday indicate the anticipated Galaxy Note 4 variant will come with SM-N916S model number and ship with Android 5.0 Lollipop. It notes that the device is powered by an octa-core ARM Qualcomm MSM8994 processor clocked at 1.55GHz and around 3GB of RAM.

Notably, the Snapdragon 810 is an upcoming high-end 64-bit octa-core processor by Qualcomm, that is not yet launched or detailed by the company - though it recently dispelled rumours of a delay. Previously, reports had speculated that the new 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 includes four Cortex-A57 cores clocked at 1.9GHz and four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.5GHz.

To remind you, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is already available in two processor variants depending on different regions - an octa-core Samsung Exynos 5433 SoC (quad-core 1.3GHz Cortex-A53 + quad-core 1.9GHz Cortex-A57) variant , and a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 clocked at 2.7GHz.

Meanwhile, there are also rumours about a new Samsung Exynos processor that will feature Cat. 10 LTE connectivity. According to Korean media reports, the new Exynos chipset might ship with upcoming Samsung devices as early as next year, probably in the rumoured Galaxy S6 as well

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